Pike hasn't had much luck against Ben Davis recently, but that could start to change on Friday. After each having a week off, the two teams will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:00 p.m. Pike is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.3 points per game this season.
Pike is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Lawrence North, who was ranked second in their home state at the time (Pike was ranked 15th). Pike fell 24-14 to Lawrence North last Friday. Despite 51 more yards than the Wildcats, the Red Devils couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Although Pike took the loss, they still got scores from Mychael Lewis and Jaylen Griffin.
Meanwhile, Ben Davis waltzed into their matchup last Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They took their game with ease, bagging a 44-14 win over the Panthers. The Giants might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by 20 points or more this season.
Ben Davis' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Malik Williams led the charge by rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries. Those 94 rushing yards gave Williams a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Joe Goss, who threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.5 yards per attempt.
Ben Davis didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jeivyair Horton and Mark Zackery. Another thorn in North Central's side was Antonio Mcgee, who made 12 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Pike's loss dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Ben Davis, their victory bumped their record up to 4-5.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Pike has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 164.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Ben Davis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 152.1. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pike might still be hurting after the 38-14 defeat they got from Ben Davis when the teams last played back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ben Davis' Alijah Price, who rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry, and also picked up 40 receiving yards. Now that Pike knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
